Parker Booth's Big Adventure
by Imagination-Parade
Summary: Parker and his friend get bored during a school tour of the Jeffersonian Natural History Museum and decide to sneak off to the labs to see Brennan and the Squints.
1. Parker's Great Escape

_Hello readers! In case anyone's wondering, this was the Parker-themed story that I mentioned back in one of the author's notes for _Snowed In_ (which I'm working on a sequel to, by the way.) This is set in the future, after Booth & Brennan are together. I hope you all enjoy it! _

_Disclaimer – The characters of Emma and Parker's teacher are mine. The rest belong to Hart Hanson, Fox, and Kathy Reichs._

* * *

Eight-year-old Parker Booth walked with his second grade class through the exhibits of the Jeffersonian Natural History Museum. Most of the other children had never been to the museum before and were listening to the tour guide closely, staring at everything with awe. Parker, however, was bored.

"You don't look like you're having a good time," Parker's best friend, Emma, said. She and Parker hung around the back of the group.

"It's okay, I guess. It's kinda boring. My dad's girlfriend works here, so I've seen this stuff loads of times. Once even at night when it was just us here," Parker said.

"Yeah, I go here a lot, too. My sister's studying history in college, and she comes here for research sometimes, and I go with her," Emma said. "Who's your dad's girlfriend? Have we seen her today?"

"No, she's an antapologist, so she works in a really big science lab. It's Dr. Brennan," Parker said, mispronouncing Brennan's occupation. "My dad works with the Jeffersonian, too."

"I thought your dad was an FBI agent?" Emma asked.

"He is, but he works with Dr. Bones to catch the bad guys," Parker said.

"Dr. Bones?" she asked.

"Yeah, Daddy's girlfriend," Parker said.

"Why do you call her Dr. Bones?" Emma asked.

"'Cause Daddy always does it," Parker shrugged.

The tour guide led the children into the museum's cafeteria, which had been set up to accommodate the children that day. The kids gathered around the teacher and the tour guide in a big group, waiting for instructions. Parker and Emma made their way to the front of the group.

"Okay, boys and girls, we're going to take a break for lunch. If you'd like pizza, please get into the first line. The second line has chicken nuggets. The tour will continue in an hour, and please remember to use your indoor voices," the teacher told them.

Emma and Parker joined the line for chicken nuggets. They got their food quickly and sat down at a table near the exit door.

"So what exactly do your dad and his girlfriend do here?" Emma asked.

"Tempe does something with bones to find out who the bad guys are, and then Dad goes out and arrests the bad guys and puts them in jail," Parker said. "I know they work together, but I don't really get why. Their jobs sound too different to me."

"Do you know anyone else who works here?" Emma said, more interested in this than she had been in anything else all day.

"Sure, lots of people!" Parker exclaimed. "There's this guy named Jack who works with bugs and slime. He's really cool. We raced beetles once."

"You can't race beetles," Emma said.

"Sure you can! We did," Parker said.

"Did you win?" Emma asked.

"Ah-huh! And then he's married to Tempe's best friend, Angela. She's an artist with the coolest computer ever!" Parker exclaimed.

"What's so cool about it?" Emma asked.

"There's pictures and stuff, but there's no screen!"

"That's impossible!" Emma said.

"No, it's not! I've seen it. She showed it to me when I was in her office for a _really_ long time because Daddy and Tempe were fighting in Tempe's office one night, and Angela said that they needed to be alone. But they looked all happy when they came to get me, so it must have been a nice fight," Parker said.

Emma giggled. "Grown-ups are weird sometimes. What else can Angela's computer do?"

"Well, that day I was in there 'cause they were fighting, she showed me what I might look like when I'm 16 on it!"

"No way! That doesn't make any sense," Emma said.

"But it's true! She can do it. It's like magic," Parker said.

"Magic isn't real, Parker," Emma said.

"But it really is true," Parker said.

"Prove it!" Emma challenged.

"Okay, I will!" Parker accepted.

"How?" she asked with a skeptical tone of voice.

"We're _at_ the Jeffersonian," Parker reminded her.

"We're at the museum! Anthapologists work in labs," she said, also mispronouncing Brennan's job.

"I know the way," Parker shrugged. "I've been here lots, remember? Let's go."

"But the teacher," Emma said, looking over her shoulder.

"She's not looking. Come on! We've seen the museum. This will be more fun!" Parker encouraged.

"We won't get lost?" Emma asked.

"No!" Parker promised.

"Okay, let's go," Emma agreed.

Parker and Emma threw their trash away and quietly left the cafeteria. Parker grabbed her hand and led her to a side exit of the museum.

"This way," he said, opening a door.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"'Cross the gardens," he said.

The young friends began to make their way through the gardens. They were about a quarter of the way there when security stopped them.

"Are you kids with the tour?" the man asked.

"Umm…no. We didn't have school today, and our babysitter dropped us off here. We're 'posed to go to Daddy's girlfriend," Parker lied. Emma was silent.

"That was very irresponsible of your babysitter," the man said.

"Uh-huh," Parker agreed, even though he wasn't quite sure what irresponsible meant.

"Who's your Daddy?" the security guard asked, getting down to the kid's level.

"Agent Booth of the FBI," Parker replied proudly.

"And he told you to meet him at his girlfriend's office?" the man asked.

"Yes," Parker said.

"Follow me. I'll take you kids to Dr. Brennan," he said, beginning to walk away.

"You _lied_ to him," Emma whispered.

"He would've made us go back to the museum if I hadn't!" Parker replied.

"Good point," Emma agreed.

Temperance Brennan was sitting at her desk in her office. She was tapping her fingers impatiently against the case file she was reading. The body of an exhumed ten-year-old should have arrived an hour ago. Brennan was aware of the fact that it was currently the hour most typically used for lunch, but she wanted her bones.

"Dr. Brennan?" the security guard said, tapping on her open door.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up.

"Tempe!" Parker shrieked, running to give her a hug. She closed her arms around the little boy's body and looked up at the security guard with a confused look on her face.

"They said Agent Booth told them to meet you here," the man told her.

Brennan had no idea what he was talking about, but decided not to ask. "Okay. Thank you," she replied.

"Have a good day," he said, leaving the kids with her.

Emma climbed onto Brennan's couch and picked up an artifact from her table. Brennan instantly jumped up from her desk.

"Oh! Um, can you not touch that, please?" she said, taking it from her hands.

"Sorry," Emma said, looking a little scared.

"Tempe, this is Emma," Parker said, joining his friend on the couch.

"Parker, what's going on?" Brennan asked.

"The tour ended early, and Daddy said that if that happened to come to you, and he'd pick us up from here," Parker lied.

_Why didn't Booth tell me about this?_ Brennan wondered. She trusted the boy, so she accepted his explanation without further questioning.

"And Emma?" Brennan asked.

"She didn't believe me about racing beetles with Jack or Angela's magic computer," Parker said.

"It's not magic, Parker. Those pictures you see in the Angelator are just holograms," Brennan explained.

"Told you it wasn't magic," Emma exclaimed.

"Dr. Brennan," Zack said, entering her office. He froze when he spotted the two little heads on her couch. "Oh. Who are the rugrats?"

"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied.

"The kids," Zack clarified.

"You remember Booth's son, Parker, and this is his friend, Emma," she said. "Kids, this is Dr. Addy. He's an anthropologist, too."

"Hello," Zack nodded. Emma waved.

"Is my body here, Zack?" Brennan asked.

"They're bringing it onto the platform now," Zack said.

"It's about time," she sighed.

Brennan grabbed her blue lab coat and pulled it on, trying to fasten the buttons and quickly walk of her office at the same time. Zack cleared his throat to stop her, and she turned, confused.

"What?" she asked. He pointed to Parker and Emma, who had gotten up to follow Brennan.

"What does she mean her body's here?" Emma asked Parker.

"I don't know. Nobody will tell me," Parker said.

"Oh," Brennan sighed. "Okay, kids, follow me. Zack, I'll be right there. Don't start without me."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan," he said and exited the office.

"Where are we going, Tempe?" Parker asked.

"Angela's," she answered.

"Yay!" Parker exclaimed as they left her office.

"Okay, I need you both to look towards the wall. _Don't_ look at the center of the room," Brennan said.

Brennan made sure their eyes were covered and used her body as a shield between the second graders and the half-decomposed body. They entered Angela's imaging unit, and she told the kids it was alright to uncover their eyes.

"Angela!" she called.

"Yeah, sweetie, what's up?" Angela said, coming into view. "Hi, Parker!"

"Hi, Angela! This is Emma," Parker said.

"Hey," Angela nodded with a smile on her face. "What's going on, Bren?"

"I need you to watch them," Brennan said.

"Why?" Angela asked.

"For some reason, Booth decided to send them to me, and I wasn't expecting them, and the body just arrived," she explained.

"Oh," Angela replied. "I'll take care of them. Go solve the case."

"Thanks, Ange!" Brennan said, running out.

"What does she mean her body's here?" Emma asked Angela. Angela chuckled nervously.

Special Agent Seeley Booth was getting ready to go into a meeting with Director Cullen. Cullen wanted an update on the case he and Brennan were currently working on. Booth was wrapping up an e-mail to a colleague when his cell phone rang.

"Booth," he answered, expecting to hear his girlfriend's voice.

"Agent Booth, this is Mrs. Hill, Parker's teacher," the speaker said.

"Yes, hi. Is there a problem?" Booth asked.

"Well, yes. There is," Mrs. Hill said.

"I thought his Jeffersonian trip was today," Booth asked.

"It is. We're in the museum cafeteria, rounding up the students to continue the tour right now. Agent Booth, Parker is missing."

"He's what?" Booth asked, making sure he heard correctly.

"We can't seem to locate Parker and another student. Her mother has also been contacted," Mrs. Hill said.

Booth's stomach dropped. "If you don't mind me asking, who's the other student that's missing?"

"Emma McIntyre," Mrs. Hill said. "She and Parker have been hanging out together all morning. It's my understanding that you work with the Jeffersonian. Is there anything you can do?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to try. Keep me updated," Booth said.

"I will, Agent Booth," Mrs. Hill said.

"Thanks," Booth said.

"And you the same if you hear anything," Mrs. Hill said.

"Definitely," Booth agreed.

"Thank you, Agent Booth," Mrs. Hill said and hung up.

Booth immediately dialed a contact in security at the Jeffersonian.

"Yeah, it's Booth. Lock down the museum. No one gets in, no one gets out. Do you understand?" Booth asked and paused as the man responded. "No, the labs are fine. Just the museum. There are two missing children."

* * *

_Up Next: Parker and Emma hang out with the Squints, and Brennan finds out what's really going on._

_Feedback is greatly appreciated! _


	2. Playing with the Squints

_Thanks for the reviews, everyone!! I hope you enjoy this next chapter._

_The characters of Emma and her mother are mine; everyone else belongs to Fox, Ms. Reichs, or Mr. Hanson. _

* * *

Brennan used her microscope to go over the exhumed body's bones again. Zack sat at a computer, running an injury analysis program.

"Well?" Brennan asked.

"I've analyzed the victim's injuries using three different techniques, and all the results have come up the same. The height and weight of your suspect are not congruent with the injuries on the bones," Zack said. "I don't think he could have done it."

"Damn it," Brennan sighed. "I was so sure the two killings were associated."

"Do you want me to compare the two victims again?" Zack asked.

"Sure. Yes. Just to be certain," she said, picking up their original victim's skull.

Cam swiped her key card and joined the two forensic anthropologists on the examination platform.

"Dr. Brennan, I've got Booth on hold on line one. He dialed my extension after you didn't pick up either of your phones," Cam said.

"Can't you just tell him to wait?" Brennan asked, never looking up from her skull.

"He seemed sort of panicked. You might want to go see what's going on," Cam advised. "I can help Zack for a couple minutes."

Brennan paused for a moment before rolling her eyes and stripping off her latex gloves. Knowing Booth, he was probably just calling to ask if she had remembered to eat lunch or if she would go with to him to the diner because he was craving pie. She walked into her office, sat down at her desk, picked up the phone, and hit the button for line one.

"Booth, I'm kind of busy," she answered.

"This is urgent, Bones. Your bones can wait," he said with a stern tone of voice.

"What is it, Booth?" she asked.

"Is Parker there?" he asked.

"Of course he is," Brennan answered.

"Is his friend Emma with him?"

"Yes," she answered, wondering when the urgent stuff was going to start.

"Oh, thank God," Booth sighed. "Wait, what do you mean 'of course he is?'"

"You sent them here," Brennan said. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"Warn you? Sent them…Bones, I have no idea what you're talking about," Booth replied, flustered and confused.

"Parker told me that their tour ended early, and you told him that if that happened to come here to meet you," she explained.

"He told you _what_?" Booth asked.

"That his tour ended early, and…"

Booth cut her off. "Yeah, I heard you, but…oh _man_. Bones, he lied to you."

"What? No, a security guard brought them here," Brennan said.

"Then Parker lied to him, too. They snuck out of their tour during lunch. His teacher just called to inform me that my son was missing," Booth said.

"Wh…Why would he do that?" Brennan asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I would've called when they arrived if I had known," Brennan said sincerely.

"Honey, you have nothing to apologize for," he told her. He was silent for few seconds. "Hey, wasn't the exhumation today?"

"Yes. I'm working on it right now," Brennan said.

"The kids didn't see anything, did they?" he asked as the panicked tone returned.

"No, of course not. They're with Angela in her office," Brennan said.

"Okay, good," Booth said.

"So are you coming over?" Brennan asked.

"Do you think you could keep them for a little while? I've got some meetings," Booth said. He knew she was about to protest. "I'm sorry, but I can't miss them."

"It's okay," she sighed. "I'm sure Angela won't mind. She'd take children over a dead body any day."

"Thanks," Booth said. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Brennan said and hung up.

She paused for a moment before standing up and walking back into the lab. She swiped her card and rejoined Cam and Zack.

"Wow, you look pissed," Cam noticed.

"Don't ask," Brennan said. "Now let's get back to work."

Emma and Parker sat on the floor in Angela's office. They were kneeling by the table, drawing and coloring their own pictures. Emma had asked to draw after looking at all of Angela's paintings.

"So what subjects do you guys like?" Angela asked. She was painting at an easel next to them.

"Science," Emma replied.

"PE," Parker said.

"And art," Emma added.

"Wow, Emma, science and art? You could do my job," Angela said.

"What is your job exactly?" she asked.

"I'm a forensic artist," Angela told her.

"But I don't know what that means," Emma said.

"I'll show you," Angela said, setting down her paints. "Follow me."

She picked up her hand-held controls and walked towards the Angelator. The kids followed eagerly.

"I love this thing!" Parker exclaimed.

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"See that skull over there?" Angela asked, pointing to a skull a few feet away from the Angelator. Emma nodded. "Well, I give that skull a face so we can figure out who it was."

"You can tell what they looked like just from the _skull_?" Emma asked.

"Sure can. Watch," Angela said with a smile on her face.

She loaded up the Angelator and the skull appeared. Emma looked amazed.

"See!" Parker exclaimed. "No screen! The picture's in midair."

Angela pressed a few more buttons and the face constructed itself over the virtual skull. Both kids' mouths hung open in amazement.

"And it's right?" Emma asked.

Angela pressed another button on her keypad, and a real-life picture of their victim popped up next to the holographic face. They looked exactly alike.

"Wow," Emma breathed.

"You think that's cool? Wait till you see _my_ lab," Hodgins said, entering the room. Both kids turned to look at the new arrival.

"Hi, Jack!" Parker exclaimed.

"Hello, little Booth," Hodgins said. He walked over to Angela. "Hey, baby."

"Hi, sexy," she responded, planting a kiss onto his lips. Emma giggled.

"Gross," Parker said in response to their display of affection.

"Oh, and who is this pretty girl?" Hodgins asked, making his way over to Emma.

"Emma McIntyre," she said.

"Jack Hodgins. Pleased to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.

"You have very blue eyes," she noticed.

"Thank you," he said. "Now, who wants to race some bugs?"

"Me!" Emma exclaimed.

"I do!" Parker squealed.

"Right this way," Hodgins said.

Hodgins and Zack's bug and experimental laboratory was, of course, on the exact opposite side of the Jeffersonian from the Imaging Unit. Hodgins led the kids out into the main room while Angela shut down the Angelator. Brennan, Zack, and Cam were still on the open platform examining the exhumed body. Brennan noticed the kids.

"Hodgins!" Brennan shrieked.

"What?" he asked.

He stopped walking and turned towards her, and the kids looked up at him. Brennan, with wide eyes, gestured towards the body. Hodgins's face turned into a grimace as he understood her meaning.

"Hey, kids, let's look over here!" he said, pointing away from the platform.

"What are we looking at?" Emma asked. They began walking again.

"Well, if you look over there, you can see a scientist performing a test on some chemicals, and over there…" he said, distracting them.

Brennan kept her eyes on them until they had entered Hodgins's lab and shut the door. She sighed and turned back to her body.

"Booth better get here soon," she muttered before getting back to work.

Back in his office, Booth dialed the number of Emma's mother after obtaining it through his FBI connections. She answered on the second ring.

"Ms. McIntyre, this is Agent Booth with the FBI. I'm Parker's father," he said, introducing himself.

"Have they been found?" she asked with an eager tone of voice.

"Yes, ma'am. They're safe," Booth said.

"Are they with you?" she asked.

"No, they're currently with my partner and her team in the Jeffersonian Institute's Medico-Legal Lab. I can assure you that the kids are with a very responsible group of PhD's," he explained.

"Thank God," she sighed. "Do I need to go pick up Emma?"

"Only if you'd like. It won't be necessary. I'm about to head over there right now. I'd be happy to drive her home," Booth said.

"That would be great. Thank you, Agent Booth."

"You're welcome. I'll see you soon," he said.

"See you soon," she agreed. "Bye."

"Goodbye," Booth said and hung up the phone.

After a quick call to Mrs. Hill to update her on the children's whereabouts, Booth gathered his stuff and walked to his SUV, ready to go deal with his newly rebellious son and his surely-stressed girlfriend.

* * *

_Up Next: Booth arrives at the Jeffersonian, and the kids continue to have fun with Angela and Hodgins. _

_Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! _


	3. Knight in FBI Armor

_Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to update. My allergies decided to make me feel horrible for several days (and it's not completely gone yet, but I figured I've kept you all waiting long enough.) As always, thanks for the reviews! _

_I think you guys know by now that I don't own Bones or its characters and that anyone you haven't seen on the show is mine, but I guess I'll say it again. _

* * *

"Okay, I give," Brennan conceded. "The deaths were not caused by the same person." Zack looked confused.

"We knew that hours ago," Zack said. Cam stifled a laugh.

"I'm still not convinced the two cases aren't connected, especially since the one of our exhumed body was never closed, but our objective was to ascertain whether our current suspect committed both murders rather than just the current one," Brennan said. "We can deal with the older case tomorrow."

She stripped off her latex gloves and tossed them into the trash as Booth walked into the lab. He stood at the bottom of the platform with a goofy grin on his face.

"What?" Brennan asked upon looking at his expression.

"Your knight in shining FBI armor is here," he said, smiling.

This time Cam couldn't help herself and let out a laugh. Booth glared at her.

"Sorry," Cam said, still smiling.

"Why are you my knight in shining armor?" Brennan asked. He had taken to the phrase ever since he heard Angela use it shortly after he and Brennan got together.

"I'm here to take the children off of your hands," Booth said. He looked around. "Where are the children?"

"Racing bugs with Hodgins," she told him. "And technically, they haven't been on my hands. Angela's been watching them all day."

"Well, in that case, let's go talk," he said, leading her to her office.

"Aw! You won _again_!" Parker exclaimed as Hodgins's bug crossed the finished line. He was wearing Hodgins's blue lab coat.

"What can I say? They love me," Hodgins said, smiling. Angela rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Hodgins, what are those bugs over there, and why are there so many of them?" Emma asked, pointing across the room.

"Oh, those are awesome! They eat the incinerated skin off of the bones of burn victims," Hodgins said.

Emma and Parker both looked horrified. Angela noticed their expressions and smacked Hodgins on the arm.

"They're eight!" Angela exclaimed. Parker and Emma seemed to get over the shock of what they had just heard quickly.

"What else can we do?" Emma asked. Emma was wearing Angela's blue lab coat. Angela and Hodgins shared a glance.

"What else would you like to see?" Angela asked.

"Well, Parker said you were able to show him what he might look like when he's sixteen," Emma said. Parker looked excited.

"I sure did," Angela confirmed.

"Can you show me?" Emma asked.

"Of course! Let's go back to my office," Angela said.

Emma and Parker each grabbed one of Angela's hands and pulled her back to the Imaging Unit. Parker called for Hodgins to join them, so he put his bugs away and followed.

Booth and Brennan stood in front of her desk sweetly kissing the other's lips. His hands rested on her waist and hers held onto his jacket. Their lips pulled apart, and he rested his forehead against hers.

"So, on a scale of one to twelve, how mad at me are you about today?" Booth asked in a hushed tone of voice.

Brennan pulled away from him and spoke in her normal tone. "Why twelve? I know I don't understand a lot of commonly used sayings, but I'm fairly certain it's supposed to be ten."

He shrugged. "I thought I'd mix it up a bit."

"But that's ridiculous," she said.

"Fine, one to ten!" he conceded, smiling.

She pretended to think about his question for a moment before leaning in for another kiss. He obliged, brushing his lips lightly against hers.

"I'm not mad at you," she sighed, sitting down on her couch.

"You're not?" he asked, joining her.

"No, I'm mad at me," she revealed.

"Why?" Booth asked.

"I let him walk all over me. I didn't question anything, Booth. I'm a scientist. Since when do I accept an explanation for something without first backing it up with evidence?" she said.

"Bones…" he started.

"He's never lied to me before," Brennan said in a defeated tone.

"I know," Booth said, sounding just as melancholy.

"In the year and a half you and I have been together, he's never given me any reason not to trust him," Brennan continued.

"I know," Booth said again. "But it's not your fault he lied to you, Bones."

"It's not yours, either," she said, looking at him. He broke their eye contact.

"I must have done something wrong if he thought sneaking away from his class and lying to everyone was acceptable," Booth said.

"I don't think you really believe that," Brennan said.

"I don't?" Booth asked.

"I'm not condoning what he did, but Parker's a kid. It was an act of rebellion. Anthropologically speaking, he's a bit young for that, but rebellion at his age isn't entirely unheard of," she said. "He made a mistake. It was stupid and dangerous, but it was just a mistake."

"I know," Booth said. "I know, and I want to see it the way you see it, but…"

"You blame yourself anyway," she finished for him.

"Yeah. Listen, Bones, when we get home tonight, I'm going to have to punish him," Booth said.

"I assumed you would," she said. "But I don't see how that involves me."

"Well, you see, I'm going to punish him, and he's going to hate me and be mad at me and be looking for a way to get out of the punishment, so he's going to go cry about how mean I am to his good old pal Tempe," Booth said, lightly slapping her leg.

"What would you like me to do?" she asked.

"Don't cave when he comes to you. We need to be united on this," Booth said.

"Booth, I'm not his mother," Brennan said.

"No, you're not, but in this situation, you're his authority figure, too, so I need you to be with me. Can you do that?"

"Yes," she said.

"Okay," Booth said. "We'll talk more at home. Let's go get them."

"Wow," Emma said, staring down at a picture.

She and Parker, along with Angela and Hodgins, were sitting on the couches in the Jeffersonian's lounge. Emma held a printout from the Angelator that showcased her simulated sixteen-year-old face. Both kids were still wearing the blue lab coats.

"Told you it was the coolest computer ever," Parker giggled.

"Angela, how accurate is this?" Emma asked, holding up the picture.

"As accurate as current science and technology allows," Angela said.

"This place is _so_ cool. I wanna work here when I grow up," Emma said. "Don't you, Parker?"

"Uh-uh, I wanna be an agent like Daddy," Parker said. "I don't want to be a Squint!" Emma wrinkled up her nose.

"A Squint? What's that?" Emma asked.

"Lab people. They squint at tiny things under microscopes all day long," Parker explained.

"Oh, so Squints are smart people who are good at and like science?" Emma translated. Angela and Hodgins shared a glance.

"I guess," Parker shrugged.

Booth and Brennan joined the crew on the upper level of the Medico-Legal Lab, but they hung back from the lounge area a bit, watching the kids interact with their colleagues. Booth cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. The kids, Angela, and Hodgins all turned to look at the new arrivals.

"Hi, Dad!" Parker exclaimed.

"Parker, Emma," Booth said.

"Hi, Mr. Agent Booth," Emma said.

"Give the lab coats back to the Squints. It's time to go home," Booth said. Both kids groaned in response to being told they had to leave. "I know you guys want to stay, but it's time for us to leave. Emma, I talked to your mom, and I'm going to drive you home, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks," Emma said, unbuttoning Angela's lab coat.

Booth turned to Brennan. "Are you ready to go or should I swing by and pick you up after?" he asked. He had driven her to work that morning.

"I can go," Brennan replied.

"Bye, Angela. Bye, Jack," Parker said.

"Bye," Emma added. The kids returned the lab coats to their owners and gave each of the scientists a hug goodbye.

"Can you say thank you?" Booth reminded.

"Thanks!" Parker said.

"Thank you. This was really fun!" Emma said.

"You're welcome, kids," Hodgins said.

"Come see us again," Angela added.

Booth walked over to the adults as the kids headed towards Brennan. "Listen, guys, thank you. I know that their presence here was unexpected and that they disrupted your whole day, so…thanks."

"They're great kids, and you're welcome," Angela said. "And they didn't disrupt the whole day. If anything, they made it more fun." Hodgins nodded in agreement.

Brennan waved goodbye to her friends as Booth began to lead the kids downstairs. Once they were gone, Hodgins wrapped his arms around Angela from behind and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, that was an interesting day at work," Angela said, leaning into him.

"Fun, though," Hodgins said.

"Definitely. Kids brighten up a sometimes-depressing place like this," she said. Hodgins was silent for a moment, his brow creased in thought.

"I want one," Hodgins said.

Angela laughed. "A kid?"

"Yeah," Hodgins said seriously.

Angela stopped laughing and turned her face to look at him. "Wait a minute. Really?"

"Yeah," Hodgins smiled.

"You think we should try to have a _baby_?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he asked. She thought about his idea for a moment.

"I think…I think it sounds like a great idea," she agreed.

Angela turned around in his arms so that her body was facing his, and he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"So when should we start trying?" Angela asked. A wicked look appeared in Hodgins's eye.

"I hear there's a new Ancient Greece exhibit in museum storage," he said.

"So we should go break it in?" she asked.

"Seems only fair after the attention we gave to Egypt, Rome, and Mesopotamia," Hodgins reasoned. "What do you say?"

"Let's go," Angela said.

* * *

_Well, I guess after seeing Monday's episode, I got the Hodgins/Angela baby thing a little bit backwards, but I liked it, so I decided not to change it. Anyone else out there think they'll have a baby before the show ends? _

_Up Next: Emma returns to her house, and Booth deals with having to punish his son._

_Reviews are greatly appreciated!_


	4. An Evening of Firsts

_Thanks to those of you who have reviewed! It's greatly appreciated, so keep 'em coming._

_As always, anyone you recognize doesn't belong to me._

* * *

As soon as Booth pulled into Emma's driveway, the kids were out of the car and running towards the front door. The kids reached the front porch and began ringing the bell over and over again. Booth and Brennan arrived at the door just as it swung open.

"Hi, Mom!" Emma exclaimed.

"Hey, kids! Why don't you go inside? There are some cookies on the table," Mrs. McIntyre said.

The kids took off, and Booth and Brennan stepped inside the door.

"Nice to see you again, Agent Booth," Mrs. McIntyre said. He smiled.

"You too. I just wish it were under better circumstances," he replied. The woman turned to Brennan.

"Amelia McIntyre," she introduced herself.

"Temperance Brennan," Brennan replied, shaking her hand. "I thought you might want to meet the woman your daughter ran off to see."

"You're Booth's partner?" she asked.

"Yes," Brennan replied.

Parker and Emma reentered the room, each with a cookie in their hands.

"Mommy, I want to be a forensic artist when I get older," Emma said.

"You do?" Mrs. McIntyre asked.

"Yeah, it's really cool! Tempe's friend Angela showed me all about it," Emma said. Her mother smiled.

"Well, I want to hear all about it later, but right now why don't you say goodbye to Parker so Agent Booth can take him home?" she said.

"Thanks for taking me to the Jeffersonian labs, Parker. It was really fun," Emma said, walking over to Parker.

She leaned over and planted a small peck on the side of Parker's lips. Parker immediately looked disgusted and used his sleeve to dramatically wipe his mouth. Emma giggled, as did her mother, and Booth and Brennan shared a glace. Brennan had to will herself not to laugh at the irritated expression on her partner's face.

"Okay, it's time to go," Booth said quickly, reaching out for Parker.

"Bye," Parker said to Emma with the least amount of enthusiasm that he had used all day. He still looked grossed out but smiled slightly once his back was turned away from her.

Booth continued to look irritated and slightly mortified, and Brennan gently rubbed his arm in support as she continued to fight back a laugh. The ride home was filled with Parker eagerly gabbing to both his father and Brennan about his day with Angela and Hodgins. Booth didn't say much in response, and Brennan was very pleased with the positive impact his little science adventure seemed to be having on him.

Once they arrived home, Booth told Parker to go to his room. He did as he was told, knowing he was in trouble, and Booth joined Brennan in the kitchen to work on fixing dinner.

"How are you doing?" Brennan asked.

"He did all of that, not out of boredom, but to impress a girl," Booth said.

"It definitely seems that way," Brennan said.

"He's _eight_!" Booth exclaimed.

"Yes," Brennan smiled.

"Bones, what do I do?" Booth asked.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"How do I punish him?" he asked, wanting her opinion.

"You're asking me?" Brennan asked. "For parenting advice?"

"Yeah," he said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Wouldn't that be similar to me asking you to go to the lab tomorrow to analyze the bones of our victim and determine how he was killed?" Brennan asked.

"I suppose that's a good point, but, Bones, I have no idea what to do here."

"You've never punished him before?" she asked.

"No," Booth said.

"Never?" she asked with a surprised tone of voice.

"I think…I took dessert away…once," Booth remembered.

"Really?" Brennan asked with disbelief. "That's it?"

"Well, in general, Parker's a good kid. He doesn't need much punishing. Plus, I only get him about ten days a month. He doesn't act out with me. When he does get punished, Rebecca's the one to enforce it," Booth said.

"I suppose that's logical," Brennan replied.

"Will he get in trouble at school for this?" Booth asked.

"I don't know. I never got in trouble in school," Brennan replied. "But does punishment at school negate the need for punishment at home?"

"Yet another good point. I know I can't just take away dessert, though. This wasn't a dessert-sized infraction. This was more of a dinner-sized offense," he said.

Brennan dropped the spoon she was holding and turned to stare at him in horror. "Booth, you _can't_ take_ dinner_ away from him! He's a growing child! Skipping a meal can be very harmful at his age!" she exclaimed.

Booth chuckled. "I'm not going to forbid Parker from eating dinner, Bones. I was being metaphorical."

"Oh," she said. She wrinkled up her nose and went back to cooking.

"Also, you know, as I said earlier, I don't get him very often, so whatever I take away from him this weekend kinda punishes me, too," Booth said.

"It has to be done, though. Children need rules and boundaries, and those have to be established when they're young. If you don't acknowledge that his behavior was wrong, he'll be tempted to continue to rebel just to test your limitations," she said.

"Did you learn that from Supernanny?" he teased.

"I don't know what that means," she said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Nothing," he said. "And you're right." Booth began to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To unplug the video game systems and move them to our room for the weekend," he said. "I think that's a fair punishment, right?" She flashed him a sympathetic smile and continued to fix dinner.

Dinner that night was mostly quiet. Parker could sense that his father was upset and didn't want to make it worse. Booth didn't want to lose his temper with Parker and chose to remain silent throughout the meal, and Brennan felt awkwardly caught in the middle.

"May I be excused?" Parker asked after he was finished.

"Sure, but don't go too far. We need to talk," Booth said.

"Okay," Parker nodded. He walked into the kitchen to put his plate in the sink and then walked into the living room.

Booth and Brennan continued to eat in silence and were soon met with a shriek coming from the living room. Parker ran back into the dining room.

"Where's my Wii?" he asked, panicked.

"In my room," Booth said calmly.

"Why?" Parker asked.

Brennan stood and picked up both of the remaining plates. She went into the kitchen to start the dishes and give father and son time to talk.

"Sit down, Parker," Booth said.

"Where are my games?" he asked again, sitting.

"I told you. They're in my room," he said.

"But why?" Parker asked.

"Because what you did today was wrong, and you need to understand that. You snuck away from your trip, which was very dangerous, and you lied to several people, including Tempe," Booth said.

"But Emma didn't believe me, and I've seen the museum before!" Parker protested.

"That may be true, but that's no excuse for what you did. People need to be able to trust you, Parker. Me, especially, and what you did today caused me, your teacher, and Tempe to question whether we can do that or not," Booth explained.

"What's that have to do with my game?" Parker asked.

"Well, for the rest of this weekend, you're not going to be allowed to play video games," Booth said.

"What?" Parker exclaimed.

"It's only two and a half days, Parker. We'll find fun stuff to do," Booth said.

"No Wii _at all_?" Parker asked.

"Not this weekend," Booth confirmed. Parker was silent for a moment as he processed the punishment.

"Tempe!" Parker shrieked, leaping out of the chair and running into the kitchen.

Booth followed his son into the kitchen and stood in the doorway while Parker ran over to Brennan.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Daddy took my video games for the _whole_ weekend! Make him give them back!" he exclaimed.

Brennan glanced up at Booth and saw that he had a 'what'd-I-tell-you?' look on his face.

"Parker, I know that seems harsh, but I'm sorry. I can't make him take it back," she said calmly.

"Why not?" Parker protested.

"Because he's your father, and I can't overrule him in this situation," she explained. Parker looked up at her with sad eyes.

"But, Tempe, he's being mean!" Parker exclaimed.

Brennan looked up at Booth, her eyes silently pleading for help. He met her gaze and realized that she was about to crack.

"Parker, that's enough," Booth said. "Go to your room and get ready for bed, please." Parker looked disappointed.

"Fine," he said and walked off.

Several hours later, Booth and Brennan were getting ready for bed. He had said goodnight to Parker hours ago and was looking forward to sleeping with Brennan in his arms and putting this whole day behind him. Booth stood at his dresser, setting an alarm for morning, when he felt Brennan's arms wrap around him from behind.

She squeezed his body gently before pulling her arms back to tightly hold onto his sides. She maneuvered her body onto her tiptoes to even out their heights. Brennan kissed the skin behind his right ear gently and sucked on his ear lobe for a moment before positioning her lips to whisper to him.

"Good job earlier," she said in a hushed voice.

He turned in her arms to face her and saw that she was wearing a men's flannel, button-down shirt and tiny pajama shorts. He let his hands brush against her hips and the sides of her thighs as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"With Parker," she clarified. "He's been so quiet all evening. I guess I expected yelling or…something. I don't really know, since I don't know much about children, but I always assumed that punishment usually stimulated more disputing than it did tonight."

"Hey, Bones, I showed him who's boss, alright? He knew better than to fight me," Booth said with pride.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Whatever you did, it worked."

Brennan leaned her head up and kissed him deeply. She then removed herself from his arms and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to her waist as she sat against the pillows, waiting for him to join her. Booth finished getting ready quickly and walked over to the bed. He paused before crawling under the covers.

"What is it?" Brennan asked.

"Just…what you said a few minutes ago. He _has_ been really quiet," Booth said.

"You showed him who's boss, remember?" she said in a teasing tone.

"Or he didn't really listen to me," Booth suggested.

"How is that a possibility? His video game system is right there," she said, pointing to their table.

"He's got a DS," Booth informed her.

"I don't know what that means," she said. He smiled.

"It's a handheld game system. He could play it anywhere from the car to his bedroom," Booth said.

"Oh," she replied.

"I'll be right back," Booth said, heading for Parker's room.

* * *

_Up Next: Parker returns to Rebecca's house, and Angela and Hodgins talk some more about having a baby._

_Alright, so I'm a bit worried that this story is kinda boring. I thought it'd be interesting to write something about the father side of Booth since they never show that side of him on the show. So please leave a review and tell me what you think! _


	5. Aftershocks

_Sorry it took so long for me to update! Life (also known as AP tests) got in the way! But I'm done with those for…a day, lol, and remembered that I needed to post the next chapter. As always, thanks so much for the reviews, and Bones isn't mine._

* * *

Booth quickly made his way across the apartment to Parker's room, silently hoping that his suspicions were wrong. He opened the door just a crack and recognized that there weren't any lights on. That was a good sign. He quietly slid the door all the way open and felt his head unconsciously drop when he saw what his son was up to.

A small, blue glow shone from underneath a Parker-sized lump protruding from the mattress. Parker hadn't been alerted to his father's presence and continued to play his game, hidden by the shelter of his bed covers. Booth quietly walked over to the bed and pulled the sheet off of his little boy. Parker quickly shut the Nintendo DS and looked up at Booth.

"Give it to me, Parker," Booth said sternly.

"You said no Wii!" Parker protested.

"I said no video games. That is a video game," Booth said.

"But, Dad!" Parker cried.

"Parker, I know you think I'm being mean, but I don't want to hear it. It's called a punishment for a reason," Booth replied.

"Fine," Parker pouted.

Parker stood from his bed and headed for the door. Booth realized that he was probably heading for Brennan again, so he picked Parker up and placed him back in bed.

"Running to Tempe is _not_ going to work. It's two days, Parker. You'll survive. I promise," Booth said.

He picked up Parker's DS, said goodnight, and left, shutting the door behind him. Booth reentered his room to find Brennan snuggled up under the covers. Booth briefly stopped to think about how adorable she looked but then remembered his anger when he felt the game system in the palm of his hand.

"Well?" Brennan asked eagerly. Booth held up the game. Her face fell as he placed it in a drawer. "I'm sorry, Booth."

"Yeah, me too. This is going to be a long weekend," Booth said.

Brennan watched as he climbed into bed next to her. He had a defeated expression on his face, and she could tell that he was blaming himself for the events of the day.

"Booth?" she said, taking his hand in hers.

"What?" he asked softly, smiling slightly at the contact.

"You," she began, kissing his cheek. "You are a good father." His cheek received another kiss. "Don't let him and this make you think otherwise."

Booth placed a soft, short kiss on her lips. "Thank you, Temperance."

She snuggled up into his body and closed her eyes as his arms wrapped around her. "You're a great father and a good man, and no offense, but I'm really mad at Parker for making you question that."

Booth flipped onto his stomach and pressed Brennan back into the pillows. She gasped slightly at the quick position change, and he brushed her hair away from her face. She smiled up at him, eager to see what was coming.

He lowered his mouth to hers and placed a warm, firm kiss to her lips before burying his face between her neck and shoulder. He began placing gentle kisses to her collarbone and neck as one of his hands slowly stroked just beneath her breast.

"Booth," she said and let out a sigh. "What are you doing?"

"What does it feel like I'm doing?" he murmured against her neck before turning his attention back to her soft skin.

"I'm exhausted, sweetheart. I'm not sure I have enough energy for that right now," she said. He chuckled into her shoulder and pulled his head up so that his eyes could meet hers.

"Not exactly what I meant, Bones, but good to know where your mind is," he said. "I honestly just want to kiss you. You can just lie back and enjoy."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because," he said, placing a kiss on her neck. "I figure I can either go to bed angry at my kid, or I could take my frustrations out on my amazing." Kiss. "Sexy." Kiss. "Gorgeous." Kiss. "Girlfriend."

"Oh," she breathed as he began to nibble on her ear lobe. "Well, okay. If you think it'll make you feel better, I guess I can accept your logic."

His body partially covered hers as he continued to press his lips to her skin. Brennan wrapped her arms loosely around him and closed her eyes as his soft, lazy kisses lulled her to sleep.

Sunday evening, Booth, Brennan, and Parker were in the SUV on their way to drop Parker off with Rebecca. It had been a quiet weekend. Parker's mood hadn't improved until Booth suggested that they all watch Parker's favorite movie, _Cars_, the night before. By the time Brennan finished helping Parker with his science homework that afternoon, his video game had almost been forgotten. Almost.

The young boy currently sat in the backseat, irritated and sulking. He normally played his DS on the way to Rebecca's, but today, the DS lay out of reach in Brennan's purse, and despite the Disney music coming out of the radio, he was bored.

"Are we there yet?" Parker asked for the tenth time in that many minutes.

"Almost, buddy," Booth said.

"Can I have my game yet?" Parker asked. Brennan glanced over at Booth.

"Not yet," Booth said. "When we get you home, I promise, you'll get it back."

About fifteen minutes later, Booth pulled into Rebecca's driveway. Parker got out of the car as soon as Booth cut off the ignition and used his key to get inside his mother's house.

"Mom!" Parker yelled.

"Hey, honey," Rebecca said, scooping him up into a hug. "How was your weekend, sweetheart?"

"Bad," Parker said.

Rebecca frowned. "Bad? Why?"

"Daddy and Tempe are _mean_!" Parker said. Rebecca looked shocked. That was the first bad thing she had ever heard Parker said about either his father or his father's girlfriend.

"Okay, well, I want to hear about that, but before I forget, how was your museum trip?" Rebecca asked.

"Short," Booth said as he and Brennan walked through the front door.

"What does that mean? Seeley, what's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"Can I have it back now?" Parker asked. Booth got down to his level so that father and son were eye-to-eye.

"What did you learn?" Booth asked.

"Lying is bad, and grown-ups need to be able to trust me," Parker said.

"Very good. And?" Booth replied.

"Don't run off," Parker said.

Booth looked up at Brennan and nodded. She pulled the game system out of her bag and handed it to Parker. He immediately ran out of the room, already loading up his video game.

"What did he do?" Rebecca asked.

"He and Emma snuck away from Mrs. Hill at the museum on Friday and convinced a security guard to take them to Bones," Booth said, condensing the story.

"Why?" Rebecca asked.

"It seems that he was trying to impress Emma with my lab," Brennan said.

"He lied and ran away to impress a girl?" Rebecca asked. "Oh God, I thought we were at least four or five years away from that."

"Tell me about it," Booth chuckled.

"So you punished him?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, no video games," Booth confirmed.

"Is he in trouble at school?"

"I don't think so, but since he hasn't been to school since it happened, I don't know for sure," Booth said.

Rebecca turned to Brennan. "He didn't cause too much trouble for you, did he?"

"No, not particularly. My best friend and her husband watched them. I think they enjoyed it," Brennan said.

"Good," Rebecca sighed. She called for Parker, and he walked in, game in hand. "Say goodbye to your dad and Dr. Brennan."

"Bye, Daddy," Parker said, hugging him. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, buddy. Be good," Booth said.

"Okay. Bye, Tempe," Parker said, hugging Brennan.

"Bye, Parker," Brennan said.

With a smile and a quick wave to Rebecca, Booth turned and led Brennan out the door. Once outside, she wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Relax," she said. "You both survived the first punishment. It's over."

"And thank God for that. I don't ever want to have to do that again," Booth said.

"He seemed to learn his lesson, so maybe you won't have to," Brennan said.

"I think I need to blow off some steam," Booth said, opening the passenger door.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"How's the shooting range sound?" he asked. Her eyes lit up.

"Will you let me shoot the rifle this time?" she asked.

"Sure, Bones," he chuckled.

"Then let's go," she said, climbing into the car.

"There you are," Jack Hodgins said as he finally located his wife.

"Hey," Angela said, glancing up at him.

Angela was sitting in the floor of one of the mansion's mostly unused rooms. It was empty except for a couch and some storage boxes. She had her art set laid out in front of her, and a canvas lay on her lap. Two already finished paintings lay by her side. Hodgins walked in and sat down next to her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I thought this could be the baby's room. It's not too far away from ours, and it has plenty of room for all the things a baby will need," Angela said, showing Jack the drawing she was currently working on. It was a sketch of how the room could be decorated.

Angela was on her third variation of what their baby's nursery might look like. Each of her sketches showcased an elaborate mural on the walls. The first was an underwater theme, with blue walls and pictures of fish, turtles, and seahorses. The second was a zoo theme and featured various types of animals, and her third was Disney themed. She was currently drawing a likeness of the Magic Kingdom castle.

"These are beautiful, Angie," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks," she smiled. She stopped drawing and looked up at him. "Do you think we did it?"

"Did what?" he asked.

"We've spent the whole weekend making love. Do you think we actually made a baby?" she asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks to find out, but…I hope so," he said.

"Me too," she replied truthfully. Angela had been shocked by Jack's initial baby-making suggestion, but now she was in love with the idea of being a mommy.

"Wanna try again?" he asked, with a wicked sparkle in his eye. "You know, just for safety?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Angela said, setting her drawings aside.

Angela turned to her husband and snaked her arms about his neck as he began pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder and collarbone. Their lips came together, and Hodgins slowly lowered her to the soft carpet that lie in what would one day become their baby's nursery.

* * *

_Up Next: Angela and Brennan have a little girl talk about Parker and babies, and Parker and Emma return to school._

_Remember, reviews are always greatly appreciated! _


	6. Worth It?

_Well, readers, we've reached the end of this story. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter, and please leave a review if you've got some time. As always, anything you recognize from the show isn't mine._

* * *

On Monday morning, Booth pulled up to the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab. Brennan unlocked her door and began to gather up her stuff.

"See you for lunch?" Booth asked.

"I'm having lunch with Angela today," Brennan replied. Booth pretended to look hurt. "How's dinner?" she asked.

"I'll come pick you up at five," Booth said.

"Seven," Brennan corrected.

"Six," Booth proposed.

"Fine," she compromised.

They leaned together and shared a quick kiss goodbye. He smiled at her and she used her finger to brush lipstick off his bottom lip.

"Bye, honey," he said sweetly.

"See you tonight," she replied.

Over at Parker's elementary school, the bell had just rung, signaling the beginning of the school day. Parker and Emma took their seats near the back of the room and pulled their notebooks out of their desks.

"Okay, class," Mrs. Hill said. "For today's journal assignment, I want you to write one page on what you learned during our field trip to the Jeffersonian Museum of Natural History." She glanced over at Parker and Emma. "For those of you who did not attend the museum tour, write one page on what you did on Friday."

Mrs. Hill took her seat at her desk and began taking attendance while Parker and Emma looked at each other and giggled.

Half an hour later, Mrs. Hill decided to have her students read their papers out loud to the class. Parker and Emma went one right after the other and told stories about meeting "the bones lady," racing beetles with "the bug man" and looking at holographic skulls with "the artist with the cool computer."

The other students listened with fascination and hung on every word coming out of their classmates' mouths. When Parker and Emma had finished their stories, the class immediately began asking why they didn't also get to see those cool things and when they could take a field trip to the labs. Mrs. Hill sighed as she tried to decide how to explain Parker and Emma's adventure to the class.

"Brennan!" Angela called. She walked into her best friend's office carrying a box of Chinese food cartons and two bottles of Diet Coke.

Brennan glanced up from her computer screen. "Just a minute, Ange."

"Come on, sweetie. Get it while it's hot!" Angela said, sitting on her couch.

Brennan conceded and saved her work. She grabbed a carton of food and a set of chopsticks and sat on the other end of the couch, pulling her legs up to rest in the middle.

"You ordered too much food," Brennan observed. Angela shook her head.

"We'll just give the leftovers to the guys. So, you _have_ to tell me, what happened with Parker after you left?" she said with enthusiasm.

"Well, we drove Emma home and talked with her mother for a bit. Then Emma kissed Parker goodbye…" Brennan started. Angela cut her off with a laugh.

"Emma and Parker kissed? Like _kissed_ kissed?" she asked.

Brennan chuckled. "Yes. Well, it was obviously innocent and not anything like how you kiss Hodgins or how I kiss Booth, but it was a kiss. I thought it was pretty sweet, but it seemed to greatly agitate Booth."

"Of course it did," Angela immediately replied.

"Why do you say that?" Brennan asked.

"It took Booth four and a half _years_ to work up the nerve to kiss his girl, and Parker, his son, managed to do it after four and a half _hours_," Angela pointed out.

"Booth and I kissed under mistletoe after only three and a half years of working together," Brennan protested.

"That doesn't count. That was a dare," Angela said. "Your _real_ first kiss took about four and a half years to happen."

"You're comparing Parker and Emma to Booth and me?" Brennan asked.

Angela nodded. "They're the next generation Booth and Brennan."

"What does that even mean?" Brennan laughed.

"Oh, Bren, you should've seen them. Emma was all scientific and kept asking how accurate things we were showing her were, and then Parker called her a Squint. It was adorable!" Angela said. "Give it twenty years. He'll be an agent, she'll be working here, and they'll be partners, planning a wedding and bickering about who gets to drive when they go out into the field."

Brennan laughed again. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed having them here. Booth and I felt a little bad all weekend about dumping them on you and Hodgins."

"Oh gosh, sweetie, don't worry about it! They were well-behaved and fascinated by everything we were showing them. It was no problem at all," Angela said.

"But still, I had promised you Friday to work on your own art since you weren't needed for the case," Brennan said.

"I got to do a little bit of that. Plus, I worked on some art a little this weekend," she said, her mind drifting to the now five sketches of potential baby rooms sitting in her art room at home. "Besides, giving up an afternoon to take care of two little kids was more than worth it. Trust me."

Brennan looked confused. "Why? What happened?"

Angela was quiet for a moment. "I don't know if I want to tell you."

Brennan chuckled in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I don't know how you'll react," Angela said.

"Ange!" Brennan exclaimed. "You made me tell you every detail about my relationship with Booth for at least the first six months after we got together. Tell me what's going on."

"Okay, but try not to react…well, like you, okay?" Angela said.

"Okay," Brennan said, still confused over what she meant by that.

"It was worth it because hanging out with Emma and Parker made Jack and I realize how much we want a child," Angela revealed.

"What?" Brennan asked.

"We're trying to get pregnant. We wanna have a baby," Angela said, smiling.

"Really?" Brennan asked. Angela smiled even wider and nodded. "You could've told me that, Ange."

"I know. I just wasn't sure, knowing how you feel about kids," Angela said.

"I don't want children of my own, but that doesn't mean that I don't like them or think anybody should have them," Brennan said. She noticed how happy Angela looked about the prospect of having a baby with Hodgins. "You and Hodgins will be great parents."

"You really think so?" Angela asked.

"Of course," Brennan said.

Angela pulled Brennan into a hug. "I'm so glad you feel that way, sweetie. I really want my baby to have their Aunt Tempe."

"He or she definitely will, Ange," Brennan assured her, pulling out of the hug. "I wasn't aware that you and Hodgins were even considering children."

"We weren't, or, well, I wasn't. He brought it up right after you guys left on Friday, and it was just such a great picture that we started trying right away," Angela said with a goofy grin on her face.

"That fast?" Brennan asked.

"I know it sounds irrational. Even I think so when I say it out loud like that, but it just felt…right. Though as much as I love the idea of being a mom, it's blowing my mind that I might be pregnant right now," Angela said with a giggle.

"Are you and Hodgins keeping this quiet or can I tell Booth?" Brennan asked.

"You can tell him, and speaking of your man, tell me about the rest of the weekend," she replied.

"He had a hard time punishing Parker. We both did. Booth had never really had to punish him before, and when he took Parker's video games away, Parker immediately tried to get me to overrule Booth," Brennan said. "Parker and Booth were both upset for a good majority of the weekend. It was mostly just really quiet, but they're okay now."

"That's good. I'm not looking forward to the discipline thing," Angela admitted.

"Discipline and punishment are two inevitable aspects of raising children, but maybe you'll get lucky and not have to do it very often," Brennan said.

Angela laughed. "Sweetie, think about this baby's family members. Its grandfather is a rock star, its father is a rich conspiracy theorist, and its mother is a good-time-girl who used to draw naked people for a living and couldn't even remember that she got married in Fiji. I'll be lucky if I get to do anything _but _discipline."

Emma and Parker finished up their lunches and made their way back to Mrs. Hill's classroom. As punishment for their rendezvous at the medico-legal lab, Mrs. Hill decided to have the children spend their thirty minutes of recess time on Monday helping her organize the classroom. Emma was alphabetizing books while Parker sat next to her sorting out marking and crayons. The teacher had run to the bathroom, so Parker and Emma took the opportunity alone to talk.

"So did you get in trouble at home?" Emma asked.

"With Daddy, yeah. He took my video games for the weekend. What about you?" Parker replied.

"Mom didn't let me go to the park this weekend," Emma said. "And she talked to me about kissing boys. It was really weird."

"Yeah," Parker said, trying to hide the small smile that adorned his face at the mention of their kiss.

Their moment of silence was interrupted by the sound of screaming children outside. They looked out the window and saw a few laughing children playing tag on the soccer field. Parker sighed.

"I wish I was out there," Parker said.

"Me too," Emma agreed. "I'd do it again, though."

"Do what?" Parker asked.

"Run away from the tour with you," Emma said, taking Parker's hand in hers. "It was fun and worth getting in trouble for. Don't you think it was worth it?"

Parker looked down at their joined hands. "Yeah, it was worth it."

* * *

_Thanks to everyone who read or reviewed this story! Now that it's over, how about leaving me a review to tell me what you thought? _


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